Creatine Dangers
 

What if any are the dangers of taking creatine? I have just started lifting and thought about taking it. Are there any side effects?

I have been taking creatine for a few months and the only bad side effect I have seen so far is water retention.

I take a creatine that is "buffered" (Purple K) that does not cause any water retention, or so it claims:)

Even my Doc said 5g per day of it is fine.

It is safe. The only danger is thinking it will make a huge difference.

The only danger for me is getting extreme back pumps and having it hinder squat and deadlift reps.

I feel that it is beneficial, back in 93 I had reconstructive surgery of my L shoulder and was off a year and half. I skipped out on rehab and did it myself and I did use creatine religiously. My rebound was pretty quick and I feel that it played an important role in my speedy recovery. My ortho surgeon felt the same as well. Granted I dont think that it was the sole reason to recovery but it played an active role. Flame On

Are there dangers? Yes, there are dangers with everything. Only one study, a french one dealing with cooking meat at high heat, has made the leap to creatine and cancer. Most of the problems with creatine come from a lack of education. Before you take creatine, or any other supplement for that matter, learn everything you can.

Here is a start in your creatine education.

http://ods.od.nih.gov/pubs/conferenc...tine_Volek.pdf

Side effects? Yes getting bigger. lol ;)

Just make sure you drink your gallon of water a day. It is as safe as eating a jar of Herring a day.
1 jar of pickled Herring has 5g's of creatine in it. Thats part of why people gain weight around X-Mass that eat it.

The powder is cheeper and more user friendly than buying Herring.

I can't imagine taking a bite, let alone eating an entire jar of pickled herring.

Most of the studies showing hints of serious complications are based upon 20g or more a day of continuous usage. For the average user, there is no need to front load, 3 - 5 g / day will be enough given some time. If you are blessed with cash and eating a boat load of red meat, you probably won't have any need to supplement. That said, if you choose to supplement, I recommend Con-cret.

I honestly couldn't afford to eat that much red meat in a day, everyday...lol Nor could I physically...